A few surprises

I went out into the garden and this is what I saw:

Iris peaking through the leaves. Parsley leafing out, and chives too, and the first few leaves of lemon balm. The rosemary has a few purple blossoms on the upper branches. The sage looks really awful and I think I might have killed it this time. I think I might have to start over with the thyme too.


I did the clipping you're supposed to do at the end of the season but I never do. The old basil stalks, the lemon grass and dill, echinacea, iris and zebra grass. The canna stalks were slimy and really hard to cut with the clippers because they gave so little resistance. I pulled a lot of wild onions and other weedy things that slid right out of the soft dirt.

Watt and Jake and Tucker dug dirt out of the humus pile to fill in the box under the maple. Don't know what we'll plant there this year. Probably lettuces to begin with.

A woodpecker's been at the maple tree and sap runs darkly from the row of holes. We sprayed the holes with soapy water because that's the advice I found on line. To discourage the bugs from gathering to the sap, which in turn will discourage the woodpecker. We shall see.

Watt also removed a low branch that had grown out over the garden box. It was about as big around as a silver dollar and it wept the whole time we were out working. Jake set a jar on the ground underneath it to catch the falling sap. We felt bad about it, Jake and I. And it seemed respectful somehow to catch and keep it.


Tucker transplanted daffodils that were coming up in awkward places, and while he was at it, unearthed a tiny glass bottle, about an inch long and only about a centimeter wide. The best glass we've unearthed, ever.

It was a good day.